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Adolescent Angst? Sleep On It

Oct. 27, 2014|286 views

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There are certain stereotypes in American society. Right or
wrong, we’re all familiar with them; the Clueless Dad, the Doting
Grandmother, the Wise Elder, the Surly Teen. Dripping with sarcasm, irritable,
rebellious—the latter is almost certain to cause headaches for hapless
parents who still remember their sweet little child who was once so happy to
see them, so willing to acknowledge their existence…

Laziness, irritability, obstinance…these are all
traits we associate with adolescence. But is it really all about changing
bodies, rising and falling hormones, and a bad attitude? Or is something else
to blame? According to a paper published recently in the journal, Learning,
Media and Technology, the real problem is sleep. As in, lack of it.

It’s certainly true that teens’
bodies are undergoing numerous, rapid changes. Hormonal shifts may play
some role in irritability, but other factors are still more important. Among
other things, teenager’s brains are undergoing dramatic
reorganization. Part of that remodeling affects the parts of the brain involved
in activation and sleep. Long story short: teens are designed by nature to go
to bed later, and sleep in later, than when they were young children.

Scientists speak of biorhythms. We all have them. The circadian
rhythm, for example, involves events in the body tied to the 24-hour daily
cycle of light and darkness. Jet lag—the feeling of disorientation or even
physical discomfort that accompanies a journey across five or more time zones—is
an example of a set of physical/psychological problems that arise when the
biological clock is forcibly, rapidly reset.

In a sense, say researchers, teens are like international travelers
who are expected to function on London time while being forced to live in New
York. Their sleep schedules are out of synch with their bodies’
own biological clocks. The solution? Adjust school start times to
accommodate teens’ need for somewhat more sleep in the
morning and less at night.

During the teen years, “the conflict between social and
biological time is greater than at any point in our lives,”
say investigators. “…Studies of later start times have
consistently reported benefits to adolescent sleep health and learning,”
Additionally, “there [is no evidence] showing early
starts have a positive impact on such things.”
Groggy teens who have trouble rising for the bus in the morning aren’t
lazy. They’re sleep deprived. They can’t get to sleep
before 11 p.m., but they’re
forced to rise exceptionally early to make early class start times.

Our educational institutions simply must recognize this
biological imperative and realign schedules accordingly. In places where later
school start times have been tried, students health—and grades—improved.
No surliness needed.